From Excavation to Exhibit

“From Excavation to Exhibition: The Trajectory of
Objects Between Site and Public” (ARKEO 6205/ANTHR 6205) was the first
semester-long course offered at the Johnson Museum, in collaboration with the
Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS), as part of a
Museum initiative supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Fall 2013 course was cotaught by Adam Smith, archaeologist and professor of
anthropology at Cornell, and Ellen Avril, the Johnson Museum’s chief curator
and curator of Asian art.

Focusing on the links that articulate archaeological and
museological practice, and the controversies that divide them, “From Excavation
to Exhibition” examined the paths that objects take in their journey from recovery
at archaeological sites to their appearance within museum exhibits. Sections on
archaeology, collections, and exhibitions, with a focus on provenance and
related issues, formed the structure of the course. As the course proceeded, it became clear that the archaeological site
and the museum are set within an extraordinarily complex set of institutions, legal
frameworks, political struggles, economic exchange networks, and cultural practices,
all of which shape how an object eventually engages the public. One of the goals
of the course was to encourage dialogue and find common ground in the ways that
both professions commit to preserve, care for and present objects in their
fullest contexts for scholarly and public benefit.

Guest teachers included Cornell professors from
archaeology and historic preservation, Johnson Museum staff, and three outside
experts, whose participation was funded by the Mellon grant. Each outside
speaker presented a public lecture as well as to the class. Geoff Emberling,
assistant research scientist at the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology at the
University of Michigan, brought the combined experience of a practicing
archaeologist and museum professional to encourage students to think beyond the
frequently polarized perspectives of archaeology and museums. John Twilley, art
conservation scientist at Stonybrook University, discussed the use of
scientific analysis for preservation, to help determine provenance and to
enhance understanding of cultural context. Jenifer Bosworth ’93, exhibitions
conservator at the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the Smithsonian’s Museum of
Asian Art, provided practical advice about the risks and rewards of presenting
objects to the public and how to plan and implement exhibitions in ways that
ensure preservation and protection of irreplaceable works of art and cultural
heritage. A study trip to New York
clarified for students how conservators and museum professionals grapple with
balancing complex intellectual considerations and the practical requirements to
sensitively treat and install works of art from different contexts and
cultures.

A series of in-class debates, course readings,
class discussions, and assignments were all aimed to equip students with the
tools for completing their capstone project: the development of an exhibition
proposal, complete with checklist, press release, floor plan, sample labels and
text panels, and ideas for academic and public programming and technological
enhancements.

Student exhibition proposals were based on their
own areas of study, interest, and expertise. The proposals included several
distinct ways of presenting and contextualizing Cornell’s collection of plaster
casts of classical sculpture; archaeological-based exhibitions about Seneca Iroquois
lifeways; vernacular building materials and techniques in nineteenth-century
Ithaca; Bronze-age animal imagery of northwest Iran; a Chinese Shang dynasty
royal tomb; the history of writing; imaginary constructs of the American
Southwest; traditions of Chinese calligraphy; the Hindu epic Ramayana; and visions for the built
environment of Roosevelt Island in New York City.

The course
represents a vital new phase of collaboration between the Cornell Institute for
Archaeology and Material Studies (CIAMS) and the Johnson Museum. Professor
Smith commented, “We look forward to continuing to enhance the relationship between
CIAMS and the Johnson Museum and continuing to augment our capacity to train students
broadly engaged with the practices and institutions that shape how archaeology communicates
with the public.”